Description

Bolt protected thin slabbing featuring micro-crimping. This pitch is essentially a connector between pitch three of Over the Hill and Aeronaut. A more in character way to get to the start would be via Aerial Book.

Start as for Over The Hill P3. Cut right to reach a pin about 15' up. From the pin follow bolts which traverse right to the Aeronaut arete. The crux is after the fourth bolt, at a section of rock that appears completely devoid of handholds until you launch into it. Clipping the post crux bolt is pretty tough -- if you've got the stomach for it, it's probably easier to go another move past the intended clip hold before clipping. After this clip, the arete is reached, at which point footholds reappear and you can catch your breath. The next bolt is on the right side of the arete. Clip it and climb up a move until you can see a bolt to the left of the arete, at the same height as, and two feet to the side of, the bolt you just clipped. Move your runner to the left bolt to allow the rope to run better, then continue up the arete to the walkoff ledge, with most moves being easier than they first appear.

This pitch felt like sustained 5.10 except for the crux which felt like hard 11, especially if you're not dialed into thin this style of climbing. The scarce, binary nature of the holds on this pitch might make it easier for those with long reaches.

Protection

Two or three small to medium nuts for the first 15'. These are followed by a pin and about 8 bolts. A couple of long slings are handy.

I climbed this awhile ago as an alternate to P3 of Over the Hill (which by the way is one of my favorite .9's in the canyon). I thought this was a great route that amde you commit to get to the holds you needed . It looks blank and hard from the ground but once you get into micro-crimps seem to appear just as you need them. Clipping from the arete was quite spicy.
Jun 13, 2004